23 October 2016

Mexico begins scrapping North Korean ship: local media

Mexico has removed and begun scrapping a
North Korean vessel which crashed into its coastline over two years ago,
according to local media.

The scrapping will be conducted by a local
company called San Miguel, who will sell the scrap to cover the costs of the
operation, according to an article from Noticieros Televisa published recently.

“It means moving the ship from the port where
it was, which is called Duque de Alba that belongs to the Port Authority, to a
specialized terminal called Demeresa to begin scrapping the vessel,” Alberto
Orozco Peredo, harbourmaster of the local port, told the Mexican media outlet.

Mexican authorities decided to move the
sanctioned ship as it was becoming a danger to the environment, an earlier
report said. The decision to finally scrap the vessel puts an end to any North
Korean hopes of the ship’s return.

The North Korean government protested
furiously over the ship’s seizure and continued detention, even causing a minor
diplomatic incident in 2015 at the UN. Since then, DPRK media has continued to
protest Mexico’s decision to seize the ship, claiming it was used for
legitimate business purposes.

The Mu Du Bong struck a local reef in 2014 on
a return trip from Cuba. The ship was owned by Ocean Maritime Management (OMM)
– a known North Korean weapons smuggler – and was subsequently held in
accordance with UN resolutions.

But the drawn out process of seizing the
vessel took over two years. During that time the Mexican Government only issued
one statement, saying the country was following the will of the UN Security
Council (UNSC).

“The Foreign Ministry stressed that this
situation is not due to any dispute of a bilateral nature and that the decision
not to authorize the release of the ship derives solely from the need to comply
with international obligations,” a translation of the statement released last
year reads.

The case represents the only time a UN member
state has seized one of OMM’s assets. Even the Chong Chon Gang, another OMM
ship caught with weapons aboard when sailing through the Panama Canal a year
earlier, was eventually released.

Even if the Mexican authorities had returned
the ship, its subsequent addition to a further UN blacklist this year would
have limited its usefulness. An NK Pro report yesterday revealed that some of
the country’s sanctioned vessels seem restricted to moving flood relief
supplies between North Korean ports.